God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
John 4:24

One of the deficiencies in Christian worship is a failure to be in awe of God. Our senses are so often over-stimulated by technology and special effects, that the invisible God who created all things is often relegated to the category of “Oh yeah, whatever.” We are awed by so many lesser things that we tend to forget that God alone is overwhelming in a category all His own. He simply can’t be compared to anyone or anything else.

Many have sought to re-excite people about God by presenting Him in a flurry of special effects. Louder and more powerful sound, lights, pyrotechnics, and fog machines are not the answer (and yes, the church “trade magazines” are filled with instructions on how to employ these things to “wow” people in churches). Why are these not the answer?

For one, they are sensual and fleshly, and distract people away from encountering God by appealing to the flesh rather than to the spirit. “Those who worship God must worship Him in spirit.” (John 4:24)

For another, they are man-made, and artificial stimulants. The God who created us is neither man-made, nor artificial! “Those who worship God must worship Him in truth.” (John 4:24)

R.C. Sproul used to say people who try to stimulate worship with these kinds of shenanigans are missing the fact that God is anything but boring—and if people are bored with worship, their problem is not worship styles, but a failure to encounter GOD!

The point is not to rail against fake and fleshly so-called worship, though it certainly deserves to be railed against. The point is to call the people of God to worship God in spirit and in truth.

Let us turn away from what is false and man-made and give our fullest attention to the truth about God—found in His Word. And let us tremble before the Holy One!

Let us turn away from what is fleshly and sensual and give our fullest attention to the truth that God is Spirit—as revealed in His Word. And let us tremble before the Holy One!